PR & communication for the complex world of technology

Telling the Tech Story

Kelsey Markl is focused on B2B communications of forerunners in the field of technology who work on trends such as autonomous driving, electric mobility, 5G and the Internet of Things. Before joining Weber Shandwick, Kelsey gathered extensive experience in many areas of communication and businesses, reaching from broadcasting news to fashion and design.

B2B communication is traditional but the industry is changing as more millennials become decision makers. In the technology sector, you’re not simply promoting a new product, you’re behind the evolution of daily lives. We’re telling a story that spans months, years or even decades, because the buzz words of today – 5G, IoT, blockchain, Industry 4.0, cybersecurity – will be tomorrow’s reality. But how can we weed through technical jargon to paint tomorrow’s picture? How can we use latest digital & social tools to tell engaging stories that resonate with technical audiences as well? Presented by MentorMe gUG (haftungsbeschränkt).

How do you create relevant stories for the media?

The trick is to not only look at the media itself, but also who is reading/watching/listening to that media. Of course, you want to make a journalists’ job as easy as possible by delivering everything they need in a format they can use, but to do this, you have to make that content something that their audience is interested in.

The traditional strategy has been to generate awareness, which should in turn, create value for a brand. This was done by putting a message or advertisement in as many places as possible in the hope that the right person would notice. However, in communications, it is arguably more important to create value first, which will eventually lead to awareness. In short, this means putting yourself in your customer’s shoes, and creating valuable content that will improve some aspect of their life.

What would be your advice to startups that cannot yet affort external media support: What should they focus on in early startup communication?

It’s important to establish your brand early and only commit to what you can actually deliver. It might be nice to send out three press releases a month and post daily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, but if you don’t have the resources to pull it off, you’ll end up with an inconsistent and shallow message.Only commit to what you can, and do that flawlessly.

What is an absolute „no-go“ in tech-communication?

Not knowing your audience. This definitely applies in all areas of communication, but especially in tech. You have to know who you’re talking to. You wouldn’t send the same message to your boss as you would your best friend, so don’t tell the same story to different audiences.

At herCAREER, the focus is on professional exchanges, which is based on the personal experiences and the knowledge of the sparring partners. As an organizer, it is also in our best interest to support women beyond the exhibition and make our networks accessible. We would therefore like to ask you if you would also act as a sparring partner in addition to the trade fair participation. If so, we would ask you to name the topics for which you would act as a sparring partner in bullet points.

PR

communications

technology

Are there topics to which you would personally like to find a sparring partner and would like to continue a professional as well as personal exchange. Then, please also name us a list of the subjects you are interested in.